Tech

Oculus has figured out hand input for VR, and it's called Oculus Touch

While the consumer version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will come with an Xbox One controller and wireless adapter right in the box, the future of VR controls will involve Oculus Touch, two controllers that fit in each hand.

Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey unveiled a prototype of the Oculus Touch "Half Moon" controllers at the company's "Step into the Rift" event in San Francisco on Thursday.

Oculus Touch will give VR users the ability to have "hand presence" Luckey said. With Touch, users will be able to manipulate objects, kind of like how Sony's Project Morpheus VR headset uses PlayStation Move controllers to do the same.

"We wanted to deliver the sense of feeling," Luckey said. "...that your virtual hands are your real hands." The controllers have haptic feedback to replicate the sense of touch.

Touching the unreal

Constellation tracking

See those little markers on the controller band? Those are for the Oculus Rift sensor to track for movement.

Image: Karissa Bell/Mashable

Hand trigger

This is the hand trigger. Press it and you can pick objects up in the virtual world, like a handgun.

Image: Karissa Bell/Mashable

Good size?

We won't know for sure until we try it for ourselves, but the controllers look kind of large. Oculus did say the controllers are very light, though.

Image: Karissa Bell/Mashable

Final version of the Rift

You can see the consumer version of the Oculus Rift off to the right side here.

Image: Karissa Bell/Mashable

The controllers also have "communicative gestures" with a "matrix of sensors" that support waving and pointing. Each controller also has traditional gaming inputs: two analog sticks, two buttons (X and Y) and a trigger. The latter is what the company calls a "hand trigger." For instance, Luckey said you'll be able to use the triggers to pick up a virtual gun.

Oculus will be showing off the new Oculus Rift VR headset and the Oculus Touch prototype controller at the annual E3 video game convention in Los Angeles starting on June 16.

Just to be clear, the Oculus Touch controller will not be shipping with the consumer version of the Oculus Rift when it arrives in Q1 2016. The company didn't announce pricing for the headset at its event, although it's been hinted at that a powerful enough PC and the Rift headset will cost about $1,500 total.

"This isn't science fiction," Luckey said before closing out the event. "This is reality. And it's happening today."

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